[img]https://i.imgur.com/4uuThLm.jpg[/img]


[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/909715047918497815/1037211200871731300/Umbri_banner6.png[/img]


Temujin watched - as he only could - as the minutes passed between them. [i]Thirty minutes[/i]... a long time for any human in her position. His gaze lingered upon the musculature in her arms and shoulders, brought to the surface by the strain of effort, and exposed by the gust blowing against her jacket. He had not been blind to her strength, not after their clash with the serpent, but even so…

[color=DC091C][b]“They suck,”[/b][/color] he muttered, continuing to stare in some manner of sympathy. Umbri didn’t have the energy to spare to murmur an agreement. She was taking in shallow breaths, forcibly deepening each one. Her features went cold with focus.

[color=#A4303F][b]“... Hup!”[/b][/color] She released, and her legs went arcing over to lock onto the pole by the knees. Blood rushed down to her head to join the roar of wind in her ears. She squinted, barely able to make out anything from the air drying out her eyes. [i]Can’t stay here.[/i] She slowly maneuvered herself around the pole, trying to get herself hanging upright and facing away from the wind. [i]This stupid jacket…[/i] The glossy fabric rubbed against the metal like oil on water, no grip whatsoever. There would be a better chance of surviving if she tossed it, but all wrapped up in her gear like this, there was no chance of removal.

When she was finally in her desired position, her head was lulling with exhaustion. Her legs were hooked on the pole with no ground beneath them to catch her when she slipped. [i]When[/i], not if.

[color=#A4303F][b]“Tem…”[/b][/color] she murmured, [color=#A4303F][b]“I don’t think I can do this.”[/b][/color]

Temujin kept his eyes on Umbri. A feeling stirred in his core, a feeling he wasn't used to. [color=DC091C][b]"Hey… don't say such crap."[/b][/color] His voice went low, shedding its ever present aggression, even as the firm edge remained. [color=DC091C][b]"Look at me. [i]Look at me[/i]. JAHANNAM couldn't kill you, the Threshers couldn't kill you, and this train sure as hell ain't going to kill you." [/b][/color]

She felt his gaze, even through those pitch black lenses.

[color=DC091C][b]"You're a survivor. [i]Survive this."[/i][/b][/color]

She exhaled from her nose. It sounded like a laugh. She 100% blamed him for the situation she was in right now. His pep talk was almost like a joke. Still, she nodded. [color=#A4303F][b]“Can you even die, chrome junky?”[/b][/color]

He scoffed, holding down his distaste. [color=DC091C][b]"Of course. And I [i]don't[/i] come back." [/b][/color]

[i]But it still sure takes a lot…[/i] He said it like it was obvious, but he ran his mouth like he was immortal. A torso still yipping at the heels of others and threatening death upon them. He could spare her the indignance right now. She nipped the tip of her tongue in her mouth and focused on the hole in the other end of the train carriage. There was no reason to antagonize him with any of these thoughts. All she needed right now was to keep herself awake.

[color=#A4303F][b]“Before… you said ‘us’ cyber ninjas.” [/b][/color]Her energy levels offered little over a mutter, [color=#A4303F][b]“I thought you didn’t have friends.”[/b][/color]

Temujin's gaze fell off of Umbri, for the first time in a while. [color=DC091C][b]"We were assassins, we didn't fraternise."[/b][/color] He glanced away, at the scrapheap far below. [color=DC091C][b]"Not like we could if we wanted to. They took our instincts, our reflexes, our cunning… sedated the rest." [/b][/color]

Temujin continued to stare, searching, longing for that part of him he simply… could never find again. [color=DC091C][b]"It's funny. I barely remember my time as a slave. I remember [i]nothing [/i]before that."[/b][/color] He looked up and ahead, towards the miles and miles of metal which blotted out their skies. [color=DC091C][b]"...Maybe it's better this way. There's nothing to miss." [/b][/color]

Umbri paused from wriggling on the pole. [i]Assassins? Sedating? His time as a [b]slave?[/b][/i] She thought being a cyber ninja was like, just a [b]job.[/b] What deeply illegal conspiracy was he a part of that dumped him down here… no, she didn’t want to pry into it, she couldn’t let her involvement with this guy get any deeper than the shit she was already in.

[color=#A4303F][b]“This is a really serious thing you’re suddenly telling me,” [/b][/color]she said. [color=#A4303F][b]“Are you sure you’re not expecting me to fall off?”[/b][/color]

Temujin's gaze slowly returned to her. A passing light highlighted every crease in his scowling mask. [color=DC091C][b]"...I'm [i]hoping [/i]that you don't. I don't want to be stuck here until some scavs tear into me for spare parts."[/b][/color]

Umbri’s nose scrunched. [color=#A4303F][b]“Hm. That would really suck for you. Are you still online?”[/b][/color]

[color=DC091C][b]"...Yes. Why?"[/b][/color] He asked, eager - or perhaps desperate - for ideas.

[color=#A4303F][b]“What’s the route of this train? As detailed as you can get it. Tell me anything that stands out.”[/b][/color]

[color=DC091C][b]"Gimme a second."[/b][/color] Schematics, words, and timestamps flooded Temujin's vision. [color=DC091C][b]"This train runs through the New Aegeus line, serving long-ranged deliveries throughout the north side of the Undercity."[/b][/color] He paused, sifting through the information. [color=DC091C][b]"Okay. There's a tunnel in about two minutes. The train will flip and stay grounded, but only until the end.”[/b][/color] His gaze flicked upwards. [color=DC091C][b]“Only a minute."[/b][/color]

[color=#A4303F][b]"That’s it,”[/b][/color] she murmured to herself, keeping her gaze fixed on where it had been for the past minute: the hole at the bottom of the carriage. [color=#A4303F][b]“I won’t make it the whole half hour out here. I have a plan, but we both might die in it. Mostly you.”[/b][/color]

[color=DC091C][b]“Great,”[/b][/color] Temujin replied, deadpan. He gave half of a nod. [color=DC091C][b]“That’s never stopped us before. Let’s not start now.”[/b][/color]